During a recent interview with Ryan Satin of FOX Sports, Goldberg revealed his thoughts on Drew McIntyre. He also commented on fans complaining about him taking a spot away from some of the younger talent, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On what he thinks of Drew McIntyre: “He’s the face of a new generation. He is. I really can appreciate a lot of the things that he’s done. His dedication to the business over the long period of time that he’s been involved, he’s definitely paid his dues. My question is: Has he paid enough? Is it time? Is it time to give him the reins? Is it time to give this next generation the reins? Are they ready? He may think that he has done everything correctly, but on Sunday, we will find out.”
On fans who complain about him challenging for the WWE Championship instead of a younger talent: “They can complain all they want. I was brought in for a reason. I’m a relief pitcher. I’d like to think that I’m the top-echelon relief pitcher, and if they didn’t think there was value in bringing in that relief pitcher to close out the game, then they wouldn’t call me. I don’t make the decisions. I just follow orders, and I go out and do my job. And I try to do my job to the best of my ability. And though it may be far removed from when I was at my prime, I can still kick 98.9% of their asses. And if they don’t think that, then that’s why I’m back. If they don’t think that, then walk up to me and ask me. Ask me, “Do you think I’m ready?” Well, I’ll show you, and I’ll find out if you’re ready. And Drew McIntyre is the first one of that next generation.
On whether he’s driven to prove the naysayers wrong: “You know, you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t want to prove every single person who said one thing negative about you wrong, but I’m not driven by that 5%. My life is not dictated, my daily mood is not dictated by those people. So in all honesty, they wouldn’t be around if they didn’t have a computer to block them and what they say and how I react. So in all honesty, I couldn’t really care less about ‘em. I really don’t care. They make no difference to me whatsoever. I’m out there to provide entertainment to the best of my ability, and the one thing that you can always get from me is that I’m going to do my damndest to provide that.”
On his WrestleMania 36 match with Braun Strowman: “It was miserable. It was very – you know, that situation was extremely difficult. Whether it was just dealing with the COVID, whether it was dealing with the last-minute change of the opponent, whether it was dealing with having to stay and change my itinerary literally on the fly when I hit the ground. It was a very stressful 48 hours, and again, I’m a soldier. I’m not the general. I may have an opinion about it, but it’s not my place to voice it because my opinion makes no difference in that situation. I always, when I’m brought back, would like to have had a very meaningful storyline and build up to every match or potential match that I’m involved in.
“It’s only fair to the fans. It’s only fair to my opponent, and it’s only fair to me. But sometimes, that’s not the case. Sometimes things have to be changed on the fly, and you know, it is what it is. You know, Braun and I had the matchup. I wasn’t prepared for Braun. I wasn’t prepared for a 3400-pound guy. I just wasn’t. I was completely locked in on Roman Reigns. To have that switched at the last second, it was not the best day I had in the wrestling business by any stretch of the imagination. Because I think it took my passion out of it that day. There were so many circumstances surrounding what happened that day, it was something I’d just rather forget.”
On whether it bothers him to not get a WrestleMania match against Roman Reigns: “Oh, always, yeah. ‘Cause I’m always going to have that ingrained hatred for him by playing football 60 minutes away from where I played football with Georgia. And by the hatred we had for Georgia Tech, it’s just one of those things that people don’t understand it, and it’s one of the best back stories professional wrestling could ever have. Because there are two schools that I cannot stand. I cannot stand the colors.
“I may be 54 years old, 34 years removed from when I was playing football against them, but anything from Georgia Tech and anything from the University of Florida makes me want to vomit, OK? So Roman Reigns, knowing that he wore that helmet and that uniform, I want to take him apart for no other reason. Not to mention the fact that he spears people. Well, he tries to spear people, and it is what it is. People don’t get it unless they’re sports people. But I cannot stand those two schools, and he went to one of them, and I can’t stand Roman Reigns. We don’t have Gatorade in my house, for God’s sake!”
